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At the plate, Dane Sardinha was in the midst of working a walk to load the bases when Charlie Manuel called his pitcher back from the on-deck circle.

The Phillies' manager had no intention of sending up a pinch-hitter, but he wanted to make sure Cliff Lee knew the signs in case Manuel called for a bunt.

As it turned out, Lee wasn't interested in playing small ball.

Lee got a first-pitch fastball from Reds reliever Daryl Thompson and uncorked a soaring fly ball that bounced just shy of the 401-foot marker in center field, bouncing over the wall for a two-run, ground-rule double.

So, was that all part of Manuel's plan?

"No," the manager said. "He just did that on his own."

Lee's hit proved to be the catalyst in a 10-4 win over the Reds and helped the Phillies wrap up a brutal stretch of 20 straight games against teams with a winning record.

"I don't expect too much, but I know that it's important and it can help the team win, so I try to take it serious and make solid contact," said Lee, who pitched eight innings for the win and added another RBI single in the seventh inning to become the first Phillies pitcher with three RBIs in a game since Corey Lidle did it in 2004.

The game featured two hits from rookie Domonic Brown, the first home run of the season from second baseman Chase Utley and a three-run bomb by veteran Raul Ibanez to cement another solid offensive day from a team that spent most of the month struggling to score runs.

In 14 of their last 20 games, the Phillies have tallied three runs or fewer, and midway through the gauntlet things looked bleak.

"It felt to me like we weren't hitting," Manuel said. "And when you're not hitting, nothing's going on."

But Utley returned Monday, and in the four games since, the Phillies have scored 28 runs. That's more than they had posted in their previous 12 contests.

By taking three of four from the Reds, the Phillies wrap up the 20-game stretch against winning teams with a 10-10 record -- a solid enough mark, all things considered.

"You want to beat up on the teams that are beat-up-able and play .500 ball at least against the teams that are good," shortstop Jimmy Rollins said. "We accomplished that part, and now it's getting back to beating everybody."

Thursday's win was the second straight for Lee, who had pitched well throughout the first six weeks of his return to the Phillies but had little to show for it.

Lee's eight innings against Thursday was crucial following a 19-inning affair the previous night that exhausted the bullpen.

"Our bullpen was very thin, obviously," Ibanez said. "We needed a performance like that."

Lee wasn't at his best, but he mustered 113 pitches -- 83 for strikes -- and did more than his share of damage with the bat.

From the solid effort by the pitcher to the game-ca